Saturday, June 13, 2015

Budapest Grand Prix 2015 - DAY 1

The
Budapest Grand Prix 2015 served up a high-octane spectacle on the
opening day at the teeming Papp László Sportaréna as seven categories
were contested in the Hungarian capital.

The two-day event has attracted 411 judoka from 66
nations as they once again showed their desire for Olympic qualification
points at a crucial time in the Olympic cycle and the global appeal of
the World Judo Tour. On the opening day in Hungary the women’s -48kg,
-52kg, -57kg and -63kg categories and men’s -60kg, -66kg and -73kg
categories were all contested and the hosts’ 43-strong team were backed
every step of the way by a partisan crowd of judo lovers.

Budapest hosted its first Grand Prix last year and
their excellent level of organisation has paved the way for the flagship
event of the IJF World Judo Tour, the annual Championships, to be
staged here in 2017 in the same venue.

The opening ceremony was held before the final block as
Dr. TOTH Laszlo, Hungarian Judo Association President, made the welcome
address.

“Dear Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, boys and
girls, on behalf of the Hungarian Judo Association I have the great
pleasure to welcome you all here to Budapest in 2015. I wish all
participants success and wish all of our spectators an enjoyable time.”

Mr. Marius VIZER, IJF President, said: “Dear President
TOTH, dear judo family members, guests, ladies and gentlemen, on behalf
of IJF I want to congratulate Hungarian Judo Association and IJF team
for the organisation of a very successful Grand Prix like always in
Budapest. I want to wish all the athletes good luck and the best
athletes will become winners. I wish you as well a successful stay in
Budapest and I officially open the Budapest Grand Prix 2015.”

On Friday, following the official draw, Hungary’s
21-year-old world number one TOTH Krisztian visited a local judo club to
meet the next generation of judoka in his homeland as part of an IJF
educational activity. World silver medallist TOTH, who has been ruled
out of his home Grand Prix by injury, was able to pass on his knowledge
and experiences to the 30 children during the session.

The IJF accompanies all World Judo Tour events with an
educational activity to connect the elite and grassroots levels of the
sport and ensure that the positive effect of the competition benefits
the sport and its practitioners at all levels.

Ledenyi Judo Club started in 2007 with six children and
today has 120 members with LEDENYI Levente, a member of the Hungarian
Masters team, at the helm.

IJF Announcer Luis TORRES and IJF Media Manager Mark
PICKERING visited the club with TOTH Krisztian to meet the young judoka
and talk about the World Judo Tour and judo’s unique role as an Olympic
sport, martial art and an educational tool.

The IJF visited Ledenyi Judo Club in Budapest to host an educational activity on Friday evening

On day one at the Budapest Grand Prix, LIEN Chen-Ling
(TPE) made history for her country as she won the first Grand Prix gold
medal for Chinese-Taipei while the home faithful were delighted by
Olympic silver medallist UNGVARI Miklos (HUN) who won -73kg gold.

Olympic champions Kayla
HARRISON (USA), Tagir KHAIBULAEV (RUS) and Idalys Ortiz (CUB), will all
be in action on Sunday. Kayla HARRISON (USA) said: “I'm feeling good. I
hope to continue to show dominance in the division and gain valuable
Olympic points with the ultimate goal always being Rio 2016.”

WOMEN

-48kg: PARETO tops Japanese teen TONAKI for gold

Sofia European Open silver medallist TONAKI Funa (JPN)
won the first IJF medal of her career as she starred in the lightest
category of the competition but the gold medal went to Beijing 2008
Olympic bronze medallist Paula PARETO (ARG). World silver medallist
PARETO, 29, who was fifth at London 2012, proved too much for the
19-year-old Japanese newcomer who was caught with a ko-uchi-makikomi for
a yuko score to secure gold and with it 300 world ranking points.

The first semi-final saw in-form PARETO defeat
World Judo Masters bronze medallist Dilara LOKMANHEKIM (TUR) by ippon
with 90 seconds left. In the second semi-final TONAKI showed her
character as she absorbed the attacks of Pan American bronze medallist
Dayaris MESTRE ALVAREZ (CUB) to prevail on shido penalties after a
thoroughly entertaining contest.

The first bronze medal was awarded to former Baku Grand
Slam bronze medallist Nataliya KONDRATYEVA (RUS) as she bested beaten
semi-finalist MESTRE ALVAREZ. After four minutes of regular time, the
score was level with a shido to both judoka and no scores registered and
so the contest headed into golden score. The Cuban was penalised for
dropping to hand the contest to Russia’s representative. The second
bronze medal was won by three-time African champion Taciana LIMA-BALDE
(GBS) who was supported to take part this weekend by the IJF. The
African star defeated losing semi-finalist LOKMANHEKIM by ippon after 61
seconds and all but confirmed a seeded position for this year’s World
Championships as she solidified her place in the top eight on the world
ranking list.

-52kg: KRAEH returns to form as Germany dominates the podium

Former world bronze medallist Mareen KRAEH (GER) showed
why she entered the competition as the top seed with a high-quality
display in Budapest. Teammates collided in the -52kg final as Minsk
European Open bronze medallist Maria ERTL (GER) opposed KRAEH who
started the contest by receiving a shido for an overly defensive
posture. The first score of the contest came with just 14 seconds
remaining when KRAEH earned a yuko with a low uchi-mata and ERTL failed
to reply.

In the first semi-final KRAEH defeated returning Astana
Grand Prix winner Joana RAMOS (POR) who had recovered from a groin
strain to take part today. The German fighter was a clear winner with a
yuko and then ippon guiding her into the final. In the second semi-final
ERTL defeated Elena MORETTI (ITA) by a yuko score to book an all-German
final.

The first bronze medal was clinched by Tbilisi Grand
Prix bronze medallist Laura GOMEZ (ESP) against MORETTI who was
competing on the World Judo Tour for the first time since 2013. GOMEZ
led with a yuko and added a waza-ari with 10 seconds remaining and
transitioned into osaekomi from which MORETTI tapped out. The second
bronze medal was won by RAMOS who made a successful return from injury
with victory against Jeju Grand Prix bronze medallist Gili COHEN (ISR).
RAMOS had an advantage when COHEN was penalised with a shido early on
and never looked back from there as she added a waza-ari and wrapped up a
fine result with osaekomi-waza for 15 seconds.

-57kg: LIEN goes all the way to make history

Asian Championships silver medallist LIEN
Chen-Ling (TPE) won her country’s first IJF gold medal to continue to
climb up the rankings and move closer to her lofty goal of winning the
world title this year. Tokyo-based LIEN, who is a member of the popular
Komatsu team, was victorious against Samsun Grand Prix winner Viola
WAECHTER (GER) in the -57kg final as she scored a waza-ari and then a
yuko from an ouchi-gari.

LIEN said: “I am so happy to win my first Grand Prix
gold medal and the first for my country is something I am so proud of.
My goal is gold at the World Championships this year and I will compete
again in July at the Tyumen Grand Slam.”

In the first semi-final LIEN surprised Olympic bronze
defeated Marti MALLOY (USA) with a single shido against the latter
separating the judoka after four minutes. In the second semi-final
WAECHTER impressively dispatched Asian Championships winner and Junior
world champion TAMAOKI Momo (JPN). The 20-year-old Japanese fighter was
penalised twice for passivity while her German opponent had an
unblemished record after both had registered respective waza-ari
efforts.

The first bronze medal was won by TAMAOKI against
Tashkent Grand Prix silver medallist Camila MINAKAWA (ISR) in a
nail-biting contest which required two and half minutes of added time in
the form of golden score. TAMAOKI attacked with ouchi-gari but MINAKAWA
was wary of the imminent threat and blocked it before being penalised
for dropping in the next exchange to settle the contest in the favour of
the young Japanese athlete. The second bronze medal was won by MALLOY
after a titanic tussle against Dusseldorf Grand Prix bronze medallist
KARAKAS Hedvig (HUN). The superior conditioning of MALLOY was evident as
she was still moving forward at every opportunity in golden score.
KARAKAS was penalised with a shido for passivity after two minutes and
13 seconds to hand the medal to the American judoka.

-63kg: Formidable TRSTENJAK again stars for Slovenia

World bronze medallist Tina TRSTENJAK (SLO) has now won
six of her last seven IJF events after an incredible run of results in
2015. TRSTENJAK defeated Tyumen Grand Slam bronze medallist Pari
SURAKATOVA (RUS) in the -63kg final in yet another brilliant showing
which no doubt positions her as the favourite for World gold this
summer. The Russian fighter was trapped in a yoko-shiho-gatame hold and
elected to submit due to the vast degree of pressure applied by her
Slovenian foe.

In the first semi-final TRSTENJAK triumphed against
former European silver medallist Marta LABAZINA (RUS) while in the semi
semi-final SURAKATOVA defeated African Championships winner Rizlen ZOUAK
(MAR) with two waza-ari with the second coming from a forceful
ko-soto-gake.

The first bronze medal was won by Minsk European Open
bronze medallist Anna BERNHOLM (SWE) who defeated ZOUAK after initially
leading by two yuko scores. The contest was decided when ZOUAK was
forced to submit to a powerful hold-down. The second bronze medal was
also won by Sweden as former Zagreb Grand Prix silver medallist Mia
HERMANSSON (SWE) bested LABAZINA with a ko-uchi-gari effort receiving a
yuko which decided the contest after four minutes.

MEN

-60kg: Kazakhstan's SMETOV takes Grand Prix gold

Astana Grand Prix winner SMETOV Yeldos (KAZ) was the
star man in the -60kg category as he beat teammate IMASHEV Aibek (KAZ)
to claim gold on Saturday. SMETOV utilised ashi-waza to score a yuko and
added a waza-ari with sutemi-waza before a second waza-ari sealed the
victory. After winning an engaging final between two willing judoka,
SMETOV raised the hand of IMASHEV in order for the crowd to appreciate
the efforts of his teammate on day one.

In the first semi-final IMASHEV saw off LUTFILLAEV
Sharafuddin (UZB) by a waza-ari score while in the second semi-final
SMETOV defeated Dusseldorf Grand Prix winner SHISHIME Toru (JPN). SMETOV
prevailed with a waza-ari from sutemi-waza to take his place in the
final.

The first bronze medal was claimed by SHISHIME who
defeated the emerging Junior world champion Francisco GARRIGOS (ESP).
Both judoka are establishing themselves in the category and will be
boosted by their experience in Budapest. Only one judoka could win the
right to step onto the podium and that went to the Japanese judoka by a
solitary shido penalty in a scoreless contest. The second bronze medal
went to LUTFILLAEV who saw off Paris Grand Slam bronze medallist TSAI
Ming Yen (TPE) as he employed ashi-waza to register a waza-ari score
which was the only score in a fast-paced contest.

-66kg: SMAGULOV steps up for Kazakhstan

Astana Grand Prix silver medallist SMAGULOV Zhansay
(KAZ) triumphed against Zagreb Grand Prix silver medallist Sebastian
SEIDL (GER) in the -66kg final to win his first IJF gold medal. The
22-year-old was unable to move SEIDL with multiple uchi-mata attempts
and the German’s lack of activity was summed up when he was penalised
with a shido for an overly defensive posture with 11 seconds left and
the rivals were separated on shido penalties.

In the first semi-final SMAGULOV defeated former world
champion Rishod SOBIROV (UZB). SMAGULOV led by a waza-ari after 30
seconds and then scored a yuko as SOBIROV was below-par. In the second
semi-final SEIDL won against Olympic champion Arsen GALSTYAN (RUS) by
ippon in the final minute to advance to the semi-final.

The first bronze medal was won by GALSTYAN against
David LAROSE (FRA) who is still struggling to discover his level in
2015. GALSTYAN led the contest by a yuko and maintained his advantage as
LAROSE pressed forward in need of a score and a morale-boosting result
to reignite his Olympic ambitions. GALSTYAN used the momentum of the
Frenchman to throw him with a beautiful drop seoi-nage for ippon as the
latter was left dejected and slowly returned to his feet for the referee
to award the contest to his conqueror. The second bronze medal went to
Samsun Grand Prix bronze medallist Sergiu OLEINIC (POR) as SOBIROV was
ruled out of the contest due to an injury sustained in the opening
session.

-73kg: Home hero UNGVARI delights the Hungarian crowd

Olympic silver medallist UNGVARI Miklos (HUN) was
Hungary’s top performer on the opening day as former European champion
Rok DRAKSIC (SLO) fell to the 34-year-old home fighter in the -73kg
final. Some would think UNGVARI would be in the twilight of his career
at his age but this win will move him into the top 10 in the world as he
closes in on a place at Rio 2016. DRAKSIC, who won European gold here
in 2013, went behind to a yuko and was then held down with a
tate-shiho-gatame and the Slovenian tapped out with 50 seconds left.

In the first semi-final DRAKSIC downed Nicholas
DELPOPOLO (USA). DRAKSIC defended an uchi-mata attempt from DELPOPOLO
who was caught for ippon with 45 seconds remaining. In the second
semi-final UNGVARI denied Dirk VAN TICHELT (BEL) a place in the final as
he scored a yuko with a ko-uchi-gari with a minute left on the clock.
VAN TICHELT attacked with a drop seoi-nage but it was a tired effort and
UNGVARI guaranteed the first medal for the hosts.

The first bronze medal was won by VAN TICHELT who
defeated Minsk European Open bronze medallist Igor WANDTKE (GER) by
ippon after three minutes while the second bronze medal went to
DELPOPOLO who won by a waza-ari against Tommy MACIAS (SWE).